‘On that trip I learned something very important. Escape through travel works.’
– Alex Garland, The Beach
Back in 1999 a friend of mine found himself as an extra on the film set of The Beach, Danny Boyle’s bigscreen vision of Alex Garland’s 1996 Thailand-set novel of the same name. It’s the final scene and he’s sitting at a computer next to Leonardo DiCaprio. The director calls action and my friend dutifully slips into actor mode, pretending to surf the web. Leo glances glaze-eyed at a photo of a group of friends starjumping on a beach. Cue sentimental voice-over: ‘If you find that moment it will last forever.’ Unfortunately, the moment wasn’t to last forever; soon the happy snapshot would unravel into shark attacks, dangerous liaisons and desolation. At one point in the scene my friend becomes the focus of Leo’s gaze, receiving an accusatory look from the Hollywood star that seems to suggest: ‘Don’t even think about it mate. You wouldn’t last a day in Thailand. Stay here.’ ‘Here’, we assume, is an internet café in New York, Leo having survived his ordeal and returned home. I have it on good authority, however, that it was in fact, spoiler alert, Sheperton studios in Watford.
I came to the story via the book, which I enjoyed, but upon finishing it there remained not just the small sense of loss that good books leave behind, but also the faint echo of the death-knell of Thailand’s untouched innocence. Soon, you thought, Western teens would descend in droves upon this South Eastern paradise. Too late, you thought, to experience it for what it was pre-movie. These were the fears reflected in Leo’s eyes as he warned my friend to stay away from the unspoiled world he’d risked life, limb and mental state to protect.
Phi Phi Island showcases the type of scenery immortalised in the movies.
But how accurate is this observation? Sure, parts of the Patpong feel a little lively sometimes but really, if you can’t let your hair down in Bangkok, where can you? If these party people are only bothering themselves in isolated tourist traps, what’s the real damage? For every beach trampled by a thousand ravers there are scores more enjoyed peacefully by picknicking families. The true, tranquil magic of this wonderful land remains. You can still experience a backpacker’s freedom without all the hedonism. The negative legacy left on Thailand by The Beach is in some ways an exaggerated myth. You’re not too late to experience the real Thailand – lush, untouched and ripe to explore – what it was before Messrs Boyle and DiCaprio stumbled upon their dubious new roles on the alternative Thai tourist board.
The Asia holiday experts at Kenwood Travel take pride in arranging amazing Thailand holidays at great prices. You could be enjoying the famous food, culture and movie-backdrop scenery of the Land of Smiles for less than you might have thought, and with luxury accommodation to boot. We offer you a Thailand you can visit on your terms and, well, if you do end up ‘finding yourself’, just thank Leonardo DiCaprio’s character from The Beach – last seen in an internet café just north of the M25.